Some compositions are now available for purchase and immediate download. Previews are also available. Click here for details

Composition has occupied a pivotal place in Christopher Wiltshire's musical career. Whilst a student at the Royal Academy, he won the Royal Philharmonic Society's Composition prize two years in succession (with large orchestral works - an Essay for Orchestra and the Trumpet Concerto) as well as the Royal Amateur Orchestral Society's Composer's Award (An Occasional Overture)

In his first teaching posts, he wrote two primary school operas (including Dr. Muz and the Incredible Flying Metronome) for School Music Associations in south-east London. The secondary school cantata Glorious Is The Crown was later rewritten for SATB, piano duet and percussion and his full-length ballet The Witch Boy was performed at Rotherham Civic Theatre. Some of his piano pieces were included in the Associated Board exam syllabuses.

After turning freelance in 1979, commissions flowed in for a variety of genres. Not only male voice choirs (see Male Voice Choirs) but mixed and ladies choirs requested works. Galactic Love Poem was commissioned by the Richardson Singers in Darlington and has subsequently been performed in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Eire: the Silver Ring choir from Bath commissioned From the Sun, a set of three songs for SATB. In 1985, the 3D Suite for piano, violin and cello was composed for the conference of the European String/Piano Teachers Association. This, like several pieces for solo woodwind and piano, was designed for players of about Grade 6 -7 standard for whom there is a dearth of substantial, not-too-difficult, chamber music.

Similarly,The Moonrakers Overture, commissioned by the British Federation of Music Festivals with funds made available through the Holst Foundation, was aimed at the same standard of playing - youngsters who struggle with Dvorak symphonies but need something more challenging than watered-down arrangements of the classics. Other orchestral music in the same category includes From Here to There (for strings Grade 6-8). More technically advanced work is found in the Thomas Hardy Suite and the Concerto for Chamber Orchestra. The latter was commissioned through National Lottery grants as was Maltby Millennium for Brass Band.

As the scores on this site show, Christopher Wiltshire manages to combine a chromatic, often atonal, language with a directness of approach which appeals to players/singers and audiences alike. He eschews on the one hand the populism of the ubiquitous 1930s "jazz" style which pervades so much that is written (even now in the 21st century) for young performers and, on the other, the trend towards static minimalism. In short, his music is approachable, playable and "listenable".

• "Chris Wiltshire's music is accessible to a wide variety of choirs. His understanding and illustration of words results in colourful, often dramatic and exciting, choral textures. To conductors seeking concert or competition repertoire, I strongly recommend a close look at Wiltshire's music."

• Jeffrey Wynn Davies, conductor of Canzonetta & Manchester Camerata

• "The choir found this composition an inspiration. At the (Cork International) festival, choirs in the audience were anxious to obtain such a superb work."

• Jean Graham, conductor of the Dalvait Singers on Galactic Lovepoem

• "His technique is based on an awareness of what will work for a choir, and his musicianship ensures that the text is well served. He can write with great intensity and drama but he can also lighten his touch - his arrangement of "The Mermaid" has audiences roaring with laughter. His idiom is contemporary, stimulating for choristers, and entertaining for the audience.

• Brian Hughes, composer, conductor, chorus master

If you would like to explore the possibility of commissioning a work, please feel free to get in touch for a preliminary discussion.